Hi All,
I have been thinking about something - I would appreciate if you could tell me all the reasons it can't work. Quick background - I am a newbie, have been riding an electric trials bike for about a year (awesome as I can ride it in public parks/woods but limited performance vs a gas bike), never owned a gas trials bike before. I owned some dirt bikes when I was younger so I can take them apart and put them back together without too many parts left over.
Used trials bikes in Northern California tend to have a few things in common: they seem pretty hard to find, they are nearly as expensive as new ones, and many of them have a cute little seat and two chrome shocks on the back...
Given this, I had an idea. I'm taking the wife to Europe this summer and we will be driving around Spain for a few weeks. After looking for just a few minutes, I am already salivating at the range and prices of used trials bikes for sale there. By very rough guess it looks like bikes at least a few years old are $1k and maybe even $2k cheaper there. In addition, it seems like I could get just about any bike I wanted within a model year or two without much problem....
The potential problems:
1) Getting it home. I was thinking I could take it apart and put the engine in a box as excess luggage and the remainder in a bicycle box and take it home on the plane with me. Crazy idea? Possible? If this isn't feasible perhaps I could have it shipped somehow but I don't know by whom or what the cost would be. Any thoughts? The best bikes I have seen are from private sellers (just like here), but I suppose I could buy from a dealer if that would facilitate transport.
2) I live in California and I will end up with what I believe will be an illegal immigrant bike. I suspect this will prevent me from getting a red or green sticker and therefore preclude me from riding on public lands. From SF we have to drive a few hours anyway to get to an OHV park; I believe there are some privately owned trials areas not much farther than that. Would I be able to ride it on a "commercial" private trials area or would the bike be deported or confiscated? I am not sure how titles work over there but since I won't be trying to register it I don't think it matters? Also, while I don't have plans to compete, I suppose I might want to in the future at some point. Would it be enough to just install whatever required equipment (e.g. spark arrestor) or would I be precluded from competing on such a bike?
In any case, any experience, guidance, or ideas would be much appreciated!
Rick